There comes a point in the lives of many men where they suddenly feel the very carnal need to leave their mark upon this planet. For some, this urge arrives early in life, and they settle down and start families. Other men take a bit longer to reach this point, sowing their wild oats through their twenties, only to wake up in a panic as age thirty nears and they are still without offspring as their friends and running buddies settle down and start outputting rugrats.

For most men, the decision comes after a lot of thinking. If you are 30 and still single (and stay in good shape) you should have no problem finding an eager mate, willing to put up with your constant training, nonstop meals, obsession with supplements, and smelly gym clothes long enough to make some babies. However, there may be issues you never saw coming. If you’ve been bodybuilding for some time, there is a chance you may have dabbled in the use of performance enhancing drugs- namely, anabolic steroids. And if you have, you may have disrupted your body’s ability to deliver sperm.

Each day, your brain issues a series of commands to your testes to release very small amounts of testosterone and to produce more sperm cells. In healthy, virile males, this is a normal process that works well into the man’s 40s or 50s. Many bodybuilders disrupt this process, however. The moment they inject that first needle into their body, they temporarily ‘turn off’ that signal from the brain to the testes to continue normal testosterone production. The result is a temporary shutdown of the testes. This doesn’t last forever, but it does last as long as the bodybuilder is using steroids.

You will still have plenty of sexual energy during this time period, as your testosterone levels will remain through the roof. It is artificial testosterone, however. Your body still isn’t producing sperm. You will still be able to deliver ejaculate, but your sperm count will be very low. If you try reproducing during this time period, you are in for a very unpleasant surprise. You are likely not going to be able to deliver – and this can occur just a month or two after beginning steroid use. If you have been cycling on and off for a decade, you may have seriously impaired your ability to produce sperm on a long-term or even permanent basis. See a fertility doctor if this is the case.

If you are a male bodybuilder who is thinking about starting or growing your family, then you need to consider your actions very wisely before starting the use of steroids. The moment you enter the realm of testosterone supplementation, whether it be just a little bump from Androgel or a heavy anabolic cycle, you begin affecting your body’s sperm production for many months or years to come. You should always focus upon the family first, as you will have plenty of years (and the very exciting upcoming muscle maturity) to look forward to. However, your window for successful reproduction is a small one – and one that can become smaller if you use steroids.

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